


He Could Be the Good Guy but it's not about Him

by makingitwork



Series: Bughead Prompts [34]
Category: Riverdale (TV 2017)
Genre: AU, BAMF Betty, F/F, F/M, Flirting, Happy Ending, Riverdale, Superheros, Violence, bamf bughead, bamf jughead, bughead - Freeform, depictions of violence, flame thrower archie, healer toni, kilgrave jughead, preslash, siren josie, superhero au, vigilantes
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-08-18
Updated: 2018-08-18
Packaged: 2019-06-29 07:35:38
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,123
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15724875
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/makingitwork/pseuds/makingitwork
Summary: Betty's recruited for a vigilante organisation called the Red Circle





	He Could Be the Good Guy but it's not about Him

**Author's Note:**

> I hope you enjoy!

Filthy and bloodstained, Betty stood dripping in the elevator. 

She swallowed thickly, and looked down at her dirty, shaking hands. It was all over now. Everything she'd tried to hide about herself for so long. Everything she'd buried deep behind the facade of perfect, girl-next-door cheerleader, straight a student was bubbling to the surface. It was over. Everything she knew, everything about her life was over and it was all her fault. She snuck a look at the gorgeous woman in red next to her. Long red tresses fell over one shoulder, blending into the floor length silk cloak she was wearing. The hood cast a shadow over her pale face, and the bow and arrow was slung over her shoulder. It seemed impossible to look that ferocious and elegant, but this woman managed it. 

Betty risked a look up and idly contemplated the emergency hatch. 

"Don't think about." Came the vision in red's tired voice. "I would only catch you and it would make everything much harder. Trust me." 

Betty pressed her nails into her palms and shifted. Her jeans were soaked and clung to her legs, sending chills straight to the muscle. She eyed the blinking numbers of the elevator and took in a deep, nervous breath. "Where are you taking me? I-I don't know what you think you saw, but I didn't do anything-"

The scarlet-haired vixen raised her hand to stop her. Betty was surprised by the sight of sharp, garnet nails that matched her lips, perfectly manicured. Did that make it difficult to fire, she wondered? "I saw you nearly get assaulted by a disgusting hobo in an alley. I was about to intervene like the outstanding civilian I was, and you can surely imagine my surprise when the weeds suddenly sprouted up through the cobbles, around his neck and squeezed his head right off. I was very surprised." 

She could feel tears springing to her eyes before the vision of a severed head squelching on stone, and she shook her head violently. "No. No, you don't know what you saw. T-that didn't happen." Her heart felt as if it was being constricted, and she gulped down oxygen. 

Suddenly, a tethering hand was on her shoulder. She stared at it uncomprehendingly, before following the arm up to a pair of vibrant green eyes. "You're not alone."

What did that mean? What did that  _mean?_ There were other people out there that could manipulate all plants? She sniffed hard. "I don't understand. Where are we going? Why is this elevator going up so high?" She was sure the building they'd entered hadn't look this tall. 

"Relax." The bombshell shrugged, letting her arm slip off Betty's shoulder. "You're among friends now." 

The elevator stopped, and with a loud crank, slid open. 

Whatever Betty had been expecting, it certainly wasn't this. 

A large open plan living room and kitchen greeted her. With wall to ceiling windows, she could see out over the top of the city and into late night sky. The stars and distant lights were twinkling and calming in the distance. The furniture was ludicrously comfortable looking, and three sofas all angled inwards towards a television. A pingpong table was set up by the windows and a large, granite island stood in the centre of a modern looking kitchen. A hearty fireplace crackling contentedly just under the mounted television and the room was full of addictive warmth that Betty instinctively curled into. 

There was a huge technology set up just to her left. With what looked like a dozen monitors and complex looking screens all connected to the wall and a guy in glasses sitting at the desk in front of it. Two people were playing pingpong, a dark skinned woman and a sharp-jawed man. Another girl was cradling hot chocolate to her heart on the sofa, knees drawn up to her chest, and they all looked in eerie unison to the door. 

The man playing pingpong reacted first, setting down his paddle and grinning as he jogged over to them. He was bulging with muscle and had a wide, friendly grin. Betty cowered away from him a little as he bounded over. "Another stray, Cheryl?" He chuckled, holding out his hand for Betty. "I'm Reggie. You're scared, that's normal. You're safe now." 

Betty took his hand as slowly as possible, with a small murmur of "I'm Betty" and was pleasantly surprised to find his warm, gentle grasp. Reggie. Reggie and Cheryl. That made things more normal. Cheryl nodded, marching into the room and leaving Betty standing with Reggie at the elevator. "I found her a few hours ago. Something to do with plants, but definitely powerful." She shrugged off her arrows and pressed something in the wall. Betty gaped as the entire wall lifted up to reveal a black lit weapons cabinet. Cheryl set her arrows inside and the wall came down again. "She's also in shock, I think." 

That had the magenta haired girl sitting to attention. She set down her hot chocolate and walked over to Betty with a disarming, small smile. "I'm Toni," She said, standing beside Reggie. "I'm a healer. You're hurt, huh?" 

Betty nodded. There was one plant in the room. A flower pot beside the phone on a small table. It wasn't a lot to work with, but if things went bad, it should be enough to get out of this situation. Toni took Betty's arm and they walked towards a door. "Dilton, you'll..."

"Before you're gone." He chirped, barely looking up from the monitor, his hands moving a mile a minute. "Betty Cooper at Hayward Drive, I've got access to the house now. I'll do a complete replica of you room, okay, Betty?" 

She gaped at him over her shoulder, but could do no more than nod before she was through the door. There was a long corridor of doors now, each with a different name and decoration. She eyed them surreptitiously as they passed. Dilton Doiley was printed in neat, uniform letters, and there were lots of decorative badges around his name. They looked like boy scout badges. Next she saw Cheryl Blossom, and it was covered in pictures of Cheryl. Betty nearly smiled, before turning to see another door. Jughead Jones it read, and someone had written  _the third_ in italics after it. There was a stock photo of someone covering their mouth, and Betty frowned at it. 

Toni Topaz's door was covered in gorgeous doodles carved into the wood. She opened it, and the inside was...irritatingly normal for the situation. Dream catchers and posters were all over the walls, and Toni pointed to the entrance to the ensuite. "You shower. I'll come in after about ten minutes and heal you. Then I'll get you some clothes, okay?" 

Betty did as she was told, because she couldn't think of anything else to do. The shower was clean and there were boxes of pink and red hair dye on the sill. She stripped out of her clothes and winced at the sight of the deep gash on her thigh as she stepped under the scolding spray of the shower. She made no move to lessen the heat, and instead let it wash the grime away. She used the shower gel without polite reservation, and scrubbed at her skin until it was flushed pink with new skin. She dithered lightly over her wounds, and instead slathered shampoo onto her hair until the black-dirtied grime gave way again to vibrant gold locks. 

She looked up as footsteps entered the bathroom, and she swallowed to see Toni standing there. She covered herself with her hands, and Toni half smiled through the glass. "We're all ladies here," she offered, "and in my line of work, a body becomes a body very quickly." 

Betty wasn't entirely sure what that meant, but she dutifully shut off the water and stepped out. Toni's eyes scanned over her, and she moved forward, and lay her tanned hand over the wound on Betty's thigh. She hissed in pain at the sting, but it soon ebbed away into a weird, throbbing sensation, and when Toni pulled her hand away, Betty stared in shock at the smooth, perfect alabaster skin beneath. Her jaw dropped, and Toni laughed, using one hand to heal the scrape on Betty's shoulder, and the other to press against her forehead. 

"It's a great power," Toni grinned. "I don't have to go out a lot, and if you ever have a break out, girl I got you." 

Betty laughed, the sound surprising her as it bubbled up. "So you can all...you can all do something? That's..." she let out a breath. It was incredible. Her entire life she'd felt alone and adrift. She'd felt like a freak and she'd never told a soul for fear that she would be taken away and experimented on. 

She nodded, and Betty marvelled as she pulled her hands away and saw the unmarred skin. Toni gestured for her to spin around, and then her hands were on Betty's neck and back. "Everyone has a different power. No two people are like. Cheryl is deadly accurate. I'm serious, it doesn't matter what weapon you give her, she can't miss. Never toss a coin against her." Betty giggled again, all the tension leaving her body for what seemed like a lifetime. "Dilton is smart. Just crazy smart. Archie, he's the leader, he's fire. He can be fire, he can throw fire, the dude  _is_ fire. You'll never go cold again. Josie, we call her the siren. She can sing at frequencies so high, she can deafen or kill you. Dilton made some special headphones for us all, I'll get him to make you a pair. Always keep them on you. No matter where you are." Toni spun her around, and gestured to the thin red wire around her own neck. "I always wear mine, see? It doesn't just protect you from Josie, it can..." she trailed off, looking uncertain. "Just make you sure have them. They let us communicate with each other over long distances, and they can protect you." 

Betty nodded. She waited for Toni to go on because there were two more people at least that she needed to be told about. Reggie and the yet unseen Jughead, but Toni offered no more information. 

"You dry up," she said with a smile, "I've left some clothes on the bed and I'll be out in the rec, okay?" 

She nodded, and watched her leave. She took her time drying her hair, and took in her reflection in the mirror. She looked wide-eyed and slightly dangerous. It wasn't a bad look. She padded into the bedroom and quickly tugged on the clothes. Grey cotton pyjama shorts and an over-sized red jumper made her feel obscenely cosy and comfortable. She walked out and into the corridor, and paused. There was another door now, right beside Dilton's. It had  _Betty Cooper_ written on the front, and wasn't decorated. She pushed it open and froze. It was a replica, an identical replica of her bedroom at home. It was jarring, and she scurried over to the wardrobe and sure enough, all her clothes were there. She plucked some socks from the draw and pulled them on. She felt excited, uncertain and eager in a way she never had before, as she headed back into the rec. 

The black skinned woman, who must be Josie, was now on the sofa with everyone else. Betty took them in and resisted the urge to laugh when she noticed something. They were all adorned in red. Toni's magenta hair gave way right at the tips into scarlet that matched Cheryl's. Cheryl was obviously already a vision of the colour, even now that she was back in casual clothes. Dilton's red glasses and Josie's red earrings and then Reggie's vibrant red belt looped into his jeans. She looked down at her own red sweater and snorted quietly. She walked over to them slowly. They had yet to notice her, all of them watching something on the television. She glanced at the screen and her jaw dropped yet again at the sight of  _Who wants to be a millionaire?_ It was so...normal. She felt like she was at a college, and not at the secret base of a bunch of secretly powered youths. 

Dilton noticed her then, and waved. "Here Betty," he greeted, drawing everyone else's attention to her. He tossed her a pair of wireless, headphones. They too were red, and she caught them in her fingers. She tied them loosely around her neck and the two buds clicked together with magnets. They all had the red wires around their neck- even Josie, which Betty wasn't sure she completely understood. She bit her lip and eyed the seats. Each sofa had at least one person on it, but also space to spare and she hovered uncertainly. 

"Here, sit by me," Reggie called, patting the cushion next to him. She beamed, and scurried to sit beside him, crossing her legs on the seat. "He should've bailed at the $32,000." He sighed at the tv. 

Cheryl shook her head. "No, I think he's got it." 

It was easy to fall into the warm lull of the fire and the absurd normalcy of the television, but when an advert break came on, Betty couldn't really let relaxation win over completely. She picked at a fray in her socks. "What is this place? What...what do you guys do?" 

They all looked at each other, as if deciding who should talk, before Dilton took the reigns. "We're a group of vigilante's called the red circle. We're a subdivision of a global organisation and New York is our territory." He licked his lips. "Some human beings have powers. Not many, but some, and when we find that out, we try and recruit them. We thought we'd got everyone in New York because we monitor non-normal activity, but you..." he half smiled at her, "you were very careful, Betty. If Cheryl hadn't seen you quite by accident, we may never have found you." 

"What about..." she tried to process it all, "what about my family? What about my life?" 

Dilton looked mildly sympathetic. "It's a previous family, and an old life now, Betty. You've been recruited. The Red Circle is your family and your life." 

Should there have been pain? Should there have been loss? Betty was certain there should have been and yet she found a startling lack of anything. She'd moved out of home a few years ago now, and Polly was away in Canada. Her father and her had never been close, and she could honestly admit to some of her closest friends that her mother wasn't the nicest woman. There was a ragtag bunch before her, all with powers, and all different. Different in the way that she understood. Different in the way that had her bleeding from her palms whenever there was a school field trip from the way that the plants seemed to sing to her. From the way the grass seemed to long for her touch. "Okay." She whispered, looking back at the television. "Welcome home, I guess." 

Reggie nudged her before flinging an arm over her shoulders. "Oh you'll love it here, Betty. I make dinner on a Wednesday and my lasagne is to die for." 

"By which he means his lasagne will kill you." Josie teased, and Reggie flipped her the bird. 

After twenty more minutes of old gameshows, there was a loud crank, and Betty whipped her head around to see the elevator door open. Two of the most attractive men she'd ever seen in her life staggered in. 

The one on the left, had vibrant red hair. He was broad shouldered and muscled just like Reggie, shirtless with a large, red circle tattooed over his heart. He was bleeding profusely, and leaning heavily on the more wiry guy next to him. The guy next to him was wiry sophistication, with dark blue hair, a light blue shirt tucked into jeans and stark red suspenders over his shoulders. He was staggering under the weight of his friend, but other than that, didn't seem to be injured. Reggie leapt up over the back of the sofa and hurried over to them. Everyone followed suit, and Betty hovered, uncertain. 

"Ribs on the left," the wiry one said, and Toni nodded as the red-head was lowered onto the floor. She pressed both hands into his sides and he hissed in pain as everyone huddled in a circle around him. The suspenders wearing, leanly muscled guy knelt beside the red-head's torso opposite Toni. "You're going to heal." He said in a deep voice, "you're going to heal, Archie." 

"Shit, shit," Archie managed through clenched teeth as Toni pressed her hands in harder. Betty swallowed down bile at the sight of the torn flesh stitching itself back together under the dark girl's hands. So this was Archie, and that was Jughead. 

Josie left for a moment, and reappeared with a glass of water that she held for Archie. He reached for it with shaking fingers and downed it quickly. "What happened?" She asked, and it took Betty a moment to realise that Josie was asking Reggie and now one of the two men who'd just come in. 

And then to her greater surprise, Reggie answered. "The Black Hood. It was a set up. They walked right into it." He shook his head in anger. "Fuck." 

Who the hell was the Black Hood? And how was Reggie able to..."How do you know that?" Betty asked, at the same time that Jughead seemed to catch sight of her. His eyes were gorgeous. 

"Who's this?" He asked, shamrock emerald orbs boring into her. 

Josie took back the empty glass, and looked to Cheryl. "New recruit. Cheryl found her on her way back tonight. Something to do with plants, apparently." 

Betty flushed under Jughead's attention, but it was Archie who spoke over Jughead's inquisitive gaze. "Plants, huh?" He grunted, a light sheen of sweat covering his body. The skin was definitely healing now, and the deep gauge looked more like a scratch. "That's cool. Good to meet you...."

"Betty." She answered slightly awkwardly, giving him a half wave. Jughead chuckled, low and appealing. She felt a rush of pure arousal jolt through her and she looked away. With some help, Archie managed to stand up, shaky on his feet. Jughead and Reggie each stood under one of his arms and steered him towards the bedrooms. 

"Well," Toni chirped, "now you've met the whole gang." 

 

_Fuck keep doing that yes fuck Josie yes fuck_ chanted like a litany in Betty's head. She woke up in confusion, flailing around her bed for a moment as she looked around her bedroom. It wasn't her bedroom of course but it might as well have been. She looked around as the words continued in her head. Getting up slowly, she rubbed her face. It sounded like Reggie. Why did it sound like Reggie?  _Oh jesus yes_ hissed his voice and she felt her cheeks colour a little at the way he was whispering. It sounded almost like he was having sex. She opened her bedroom door and glanced out into the corridor, fully expecting to see him there, but seeing nothing. Where was he? Why could she hear him? 

It all clicked at the same time that his voice changed in her head.  _Oh shit, Betty!_ she heard at the same time as she realised that she was really hearing him in her head. 

The door to Josie's bedroom opened, and a very naked, dishevelled Reggie staggered out, with one hand covering his intimate area. "Shit, Betty, I'm sorry," he said, his voice gone from her head. She stared at him in shock and amusement. "I'm a telepath, I can read minds and when I'm not focusing I can unintentionally project." He offered her an apologetic look. "Should've warned you probably. Sorry again." 

She shook her head in awe, and headed towards the door to the rec. "It's fine." She managed with a smile. He rolled his eyes at her, before darting back into Josie's room to a delighted giggle. Betty's cheeks burnt as she headed into the rec. It was only upon seeing the white dawn light through the windows that she realised how early it was. The rec was empty and just as comfy looking as it had been the night prior. There was a long figure making coffee in the kitchen, and she pushed her hair out of her face self-consciously when she realised it was Jughead. He was pottering about leisurely without realising she was there, so she tiptoed to the counter and slid up on the breakfast bar seats. She brushed the sleep from her eyes and tried to make herself look less sleep-ridden before clearing her throat. 

He whirled around in surprise, and offered her a fond smile. "Betty. I'm Jughead," he nodded, still holding the coffee pot in one hand. "You want a cup?" 

"Please," she managed, trailing her fingers across the granite counter. It was so weird to feel this level of attraction towards someone. She'd never even really had a crush in school. She was too afraid of her secret being exposed, and she felt an insane amount of freedom now. She took the coffee gratefully and tried to hide her delight when Jughead leaned against the counter opposite her. 

After he took a small sip, he set his mug down and rested on his arms. "So, plants, huh?" She nodded somewhat shyly and he winked, gesturing to the flowerpot by the phone. "Wanna give me a taste?" 

It was with scary delight that she reached into herself, and felt the calling of her power. The purple flower rose into the air as she elongated its stem, and she took a great joy in spreading the leaf larger and larger, until it covered most of the floor. Jughead whistled; impressed. She marvelled at how wonderful it felt to unleash her powers, and gently coerced the green life back into it's pot. It sang to her contentedly and she relaxed, drinking more of her coffee. "Plants." She agreed. 

He chuckled again, nodding. "I assume you're here the same reason I am. Reggie woke you up with his sexual exploits?" 

The fact that this may be a common occurrence had her laughing cheerily. "He apologised. I didn't even know that was what his power was." She traced her finger over the rim of the mug. "It's...it feels so amazing that we could just use them. That we can use our powers, I mean..." she shook her head wistfully. "I feel like I've been hiding for so long." 

Jughead gave her a warm, intense look. "I understand." He offered, reaching a hand across the counter to touch her bare arm. "It's a great family here. After training I imagine you'll love kicking ass. Cheryl told me what you did to that guy." He gave her an approving nod. "You're tough."

She bit her lip, a warm rush of pleasure at his approval fleeting through her. "What about your power? Toni never said-"

He faltered a little, before rubbing the back of his neck. "I'm what we call a 'commander'." 

Betty frowned, trying to remember what Toni had said yesterday. Archie was in charge, wasn't he? Her confusion must have shown on her face because Jughead continued. 

"What that means is when I give a direct order, intentionally or not, my command is followed. It lasts for about ten minutes." 

Betty's brow furrowed together as she stared at the dark liquid of her coffee. "I don't understand?" She hedged, and he sighed, raking his fingers through his hair. 

"It means, if I told you to jump off a building, you'd do it. It means if I said, make me some dinner, you would. But then after ten minutes of making dinner, you'd probably stop. I can hold it out for longer but it takes a lot of concentration and it hurts a lot." He eyed her warily. "Most people get pretty freaked out about it." 

Betty swallowed thickly as she started to understand. He could give  _commands._ God that was- that was scary. Telling someone to jump off a building, or to hurt themselves- the damage that could be done in just ten minutes, or even longer. That was...ice beat through her core for a moment as she recalled the intensity with which Toni had talked about the headphones. She suddenly didn't think it was only Josie she should watch out for. "Does it work to whoever hears it, or whoever you direct it to?" She asked quietly. 

"Uh, if I was in a crowd and I addressed it to  _one_ specific person in the crowd, only they would be effected. But I can address crowds." 

She gaped. "How many people at a time?" 

He scratched his neck contemplatively. "Biggest I've ever done was probably around a stadium of three thousand last year. But it works over media and stuff, so I think it's fairly unlimited. Like I said though, it's difficult to maintain." 

_Difficult._ Jesus Christ. She suddenly felt incredibly vulnerable around him, and had to fight the urge to put her headphones in. It didn't seem like a...like a  _hero_ quality. It seemed dangerous and evil. "I don't...that's..."

Jughead sighed, shaking his head a little. "This place operates on trust, Betty. I'm careful with what I say and after you've done your training, you'll get that. I'd never take advantage of anyone. I'm a little bit sick-" he gave a spiteful laugh, "-of everyone assuming the worst about me." She felt small as he scolded her, and she could tell this was something that bothered him. "Do you know how difficult it was for me to be accepted here? How afraid everyone was of me? If it wasn't for Arch, I'd still be like you were yesterday. Alone. Untethered. Adrift and misunderstood. I may not be a mind reader, but I can read the disgust and fear radiating off you in waves." He turned away from her, as if the sight of her pained him. 

She stood up and reached out for him. "No!" She began, "no, I didn't mean to-"

"I know." He cut her off, looking exhausted. "I know, I'm sorry, I'm just going through some shit, okay?" His shoulders slumped, and he leaned against the fridge, pressing his forehead into the cool metal. "Every time we meet the Black Hood, he tries to recruit me. Every time we meet a fucking psychopath, they try to recruit me. It's like I'm the weak link, it's like they think my power is just  _made_ for them." He offered a wry smile into the cold. "It's giving me a real identity crisis." 

Betty grinned a little in response, and took a small step towards him. "I am sorry." 

"I'm sorry," he insisted, turning to face her. "You're new and I'm bombarding you with all my baggage." He opened his arms, and she blinked in surprise. She hadn't pegged him for a hugger, but she happily ducked into his embrace. 

"I don't mind," she said honestly, muffled by his tee. "It's kinda nice to see baggage on someone that isn't me." 

She could feel his chuckle as it reverberated through his torso. "Then you've come to the right place." 

 

It took three months of training to get to fighting speed. Her powers felt exercised and stronger than they ever had. Dilton had analysed her beyond belief and produced the most intensive training programme. She was able to make trees collapse on demand from  _miles_ away now. She was fast as a result of dodging Archie's flames and her team work had shot through the rough due to her work with Cheryl. Climbing up the side of a building as Cheryl shot arrows mere millimetres above her hands for her to use as a climbing rod had given her an immense amount of faith in their ability to complete tasks together. She was far more able to tolerate pain now because of the dedication Toni had shown her, and much better versed in first-aid. She knew how to position herself in a room that was going to collapse due to one of Josie's glass-shattering shrieks, and her reflexes were lightning fast. She'd been consistently admiring of Reggie's ability. He could read everyone's thoughts, could fish through their heads for information, and he was the most down to earth guy she knew. He never said a word about private things and his mental projections had been unparalleled in their usefulness. Little snippets of  _stop now_ had her freezing right before a cliff edge. He corrected her misconceptions with small, constructive phrases and not a hint of mocking.

The toughest part of training was when all of them were in one of the practise rooms. 

Jughead and Josie stood together on a small stage; microphones positioned in front of them, as Doiley, Toni, Cheryl, Archie and Reggie completed an obstacle task. It tested Doiley's equipment and the ability of the team to get through a set of courses within an opportunistic time. It was during one such training session that they'd found the limit to the headphones. 

Josie's screeching call echoed into the microphone and played back obscenely loudly through the speakers; shaking the floor with the volume as Betty hoisted herself up the rope. Cheryl was above her, and Archie was just under her feet as they struggled to the top. Her arms burnt and she could hear nothing outside of the soundproof earbuds apart from Toni's encouragement from where she was perched on the landing at the top. 

And then the speaker had turned up and everything had stopped at once. All of a sudden, through the headphones, she heard in a quiet voice:  _"Collapse."_

It was Jughead's voice. So loud that it filtered through the genius material in their ears. Betty found her body collapsing, as did the rest of the teams; Josie included, until they were a heap on the ground. Betty groaned, watching through bleary eyes as Jughead pulled out the plug to the speaker and called out for them. He cradled Josie in his arms from where she'd crumpled on the stage and Betty sat up slowly, pulling out the headphones like everyone else. 

"Okay," Dilton wheezed from where he was pinned under Reggie. "We've found the limit of the headphones then." 

"Sorry, guys!" Jughead called, voice hoarse from practise. "Sorry!" 

It was the first time his power had ever been used on Betty, and she couldn't shake the awe from her muscles for a few days. 

 

They were an unstoppable team, Betty often thought. Almost over-qualified to stop crooks and thieves in New York. Archie told her of their main target, an elusive powered-human called the Black Hood. Betty wasn't sent on missions that included him, nor was she allowed on every patrol. That wasn't up to them though, that was official rulings. She had to be a member of the team for a year, and so on those nights, she sat at home with Dilton and sometimes Toni and they played chess and designed better shooters to target Archie's flames. 

It was on such a night, as Dilton and Betty laughed over some soup and a rerun of Bullseye, that the elevator cranked open and only four people staggered in. Betty and Dilton jumped up as the four of them walked into the rec in a daze. "What happened?" Dilton asked immediately, shining his pocketlight into Cheryl's pupils. Her eyes seemed to snap into focus, as did everyone's, and they all sagged as if they'd had their strings cut. 

"They got Toni." Reggie managed; shaking. They looked injured, Betty thought, fluttering to each one and making sure they were okay. "They got her and they put a gun to her head and they told Jughead to order us home."

"You were just doing patrol though," Dilton pointed out worriedly, hurrying over to his monitors to track their locations. 

"Why do you think we didn't have our headphones in?" Cheryl snapped, agitated and mean. Betty glanced at her worriedly, but Reggie was already on it, and collected Cheryl into his arms. The blonde squeezed Archie and Josie into a tight hug. 

"It's going to be okay." She assured them, and hoped that it was true. 

 

Betty couldn't sleep. 

Jughead and Toni had staggered in a mere few hours later; looking worse for wear. Henchmen hired by the Black Hood apparently. Everyone had tried to sooth Jughead when he'd started crying; cursing his own power, but he'd been near inconsolable. Until Toni had started healing his wounds and had grabbed his face firmly in her hands and told him to remember how many times he'd saved their lives. 

Betty sat on the pingpong table, staring out into the city lights. Everyone else was asleep, and the last time she'd checked, it was three am. She couldn't help replaying the way the two of them had looked at each other. The way Toni's hands had looked on his chest. The way he'd stared at her with his big green eyes. 

"You're being an idiot, Betty," came a voice, and she turned in surprise to see Reggie padding towards her. He looked soft and sleep rumpled. "You know that." 

She looked down at her knees and half shrugged. "Does he..."

"I'm not at liberty to say," Reggie teased lightly, easing himself up onto the table beside her. "I can't tell people the thoughts of others, Betty, you know that," he admonished without heat. She sighed into the view. 

"I know." 

"But, I can tell you that Toni and Cheryl have been dancing around each other for a very long time." 

Betty turned to him in surprise. "What?" She asked in confusion, and Reggie grinned unabashedly at her. 

"Girls loving girls. It's pretty hot." 

She shoved him, and turned to look out at the lights with hope burning in her chest. 

 

But she's slow, and she's shy, and soon nine more months have passed, and she feels like she and Jughead are just like Cheryl and Toni. Dancing around each other, flirting and coming so close to something real before flittering away in fear and choosing friendship instead. 

What this now means is that she can go out on missions involving the Black Hood and patrols too. What that means is that Jughead's protective streak leads to riffs. 

As the six of them fight some men who speak spanish with heavy accents, Jughead keeps urging her away from the danger. She ignores him because she's not some damsel and she's been trained to fight just as well as Cheryl. But he doesn't seem to be listening. He wants her at home with Toni and Dilton, he doesn't want her here using her power to tether people into the grass. She's  _helping_ and he's being an idiot. 

When she gets the sharp edge of a knife against the soft flesh of her face she screams in pain and her hold on the greenery dissipates; freeing most of the men. Archie's gigantic streak of fire obscures her view for a moment, but suddenly Jughead's on her and is dragging her away. He's swearing and cursing and he looks her dead in the eye and goes: "Go home." 

Two hours later she gets back, bleeding and in pain and fighting against his hold. Wherever he is though, he's holding out his energy because she's still fighting it when she collapses into Toni's arms. She's furious when he gets back, but she doesn't have the heart to yell at him because he's covered in gashes and he's cradling Cheryl to his chest. Cheryl's near death. Toni's  _scream_ is the most frightening thing that Betty's ever heard and Cheryl needs hours of intensive healing and Toni nearly collapses at the end of it. 

Jughead just stares at her, eyes hard. "That could have been you." He says and Betty doesn't know what to say back. 

So she slaps him hard across the face.

He kisses her. Finally.

 

She gets her payback though, and when they're fighting she kisses him on the cheek and the tree behind him bends over and snatches him into the sky. He yelps, shoving at the leafy confinement and she winks up at him. "You wait here." She says. "I got this."

"Betty!" He squawks, flailing, but she can't hear him. 

She's too busy saving the day. 

**Author's Note:**

> Leave a comment/prompt/declaration of love on the way out! 
> 
> MWAH MWAH x


End file.
